Thursday, 24 February 2011

That's Not My Name!

No, I don't mean Halonen's feelings for Obama – I am sure he is a very likable chap. I mean the way Obama's name has been extended with the elative case ending “-sta” (from/of).

Did anyone ask Obama whether he minded his name being extended?

Maybe I am weird, but I think names are a very personal thing. I generally don't like people fiddling with my surname and I find it disturbing that Finns can do that with impunity.

My name is no more Miekalta (from Miekka) or Miekalle (to Miekka), than it is Miekkadude or Miekkacool(1). Imagine, if your surname is Roger, in some circumstances you would become Rogerista, which sounds like a splinter group of the Nicaraguan liberation front. That's just wrong!
﻿
﻿Admittedly, names do get extended in English also, e.g. Freudian or Thatcherism. But that's different, because a) these are new words not the person's name per se, and b) because it implies the people concerned have done something of note, which I suppose is flattering for the most part (well, err, Stalinism?).

In the spirit of compromise, and to prove I am not an unreasonable person, I propose that henceforth cases be “coloned” onto names the same way as they are already onto acronyms, e.g. DNA:sta or NASA:lle → Obama:sta or Miekka:lle.

I wonder if my proposal will take off...

(1) OK, my name is not really Miekka either, but hopefully my point clear

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About Me

I am not Finnish (I am Franco-English). I don't speak much Finnish (though I do speak several other languages). I don't even live in Finland and I never have (I currently reside in the UK). But I have been given an honoury Finnish name (Olli Miekka) by some Finns I know, so surely that qualifies me to comment on all things Fininish.